PhD Studentship: Resilience of Complex Cliffs to Large Landslides in a Changing Climate University of Birmingham in United Kingdom

[Funding covers annual stipend, tuition fees at home-fee level, and Research Training Support Grant. International students eligible for up to 30% of the cohort. Funding does not cover relocation or living costs.]

This PhD studentship at the University of Birmingham investigates the resilience of complex coastal cliffs to large landslides in the context of a changing climate. Many coastlines, particularly in England, host large landslide complexes that are marginally stable and may reactivate due to climate change. Despite advances in remote earth surface monitoring, the relationship between landslide movement and rainfall remains difficult to monitor and forecast, primarily because strain is controlled by the geotechnical properties of materials in the basal shear zone. Both material behaviour and landslide-scale strain responses are poorly constrained, presenting a significant research challenge.

The project aims to develop new models to explore how the reactivation of deep-seated coastal landslides is controlled by the behaviour of their basal shear surfaces, with the goal of better assessing the potential hazards these features may pose in the future. Up to 80 landslide complexes have been identified along the English coastline, comprising a series of landslide units that move at different rates and depths through various mechanisms. However, few of these systems have been studied in detail. With coastal erosion rates increasing along most of the UK coastline in response to climate and sea level change, there is an urgent need to understand how these landslides may reactivate, which is essential for effective risk assessment and cliff management strategies.

Three study sites will be selected for advanced geotechnical testing to measure the strength of materials in each setting and simulate potential future failure scenarios. The resulting novel dataset will be combined with field and remote earth surface monitoring data to develop new models evaluating how these complex cliff systems could evolve in response to future climate change. This research will be the first to consider how different landslide failure mechanisms may develop within complex landslide systems and how this new knowledge can inform hazard evaluation in a changed and changing climate.

The studentship is offered through the CENTA3 DLA and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Funding includes an annual stipend, tuition fees at the home-fee level, and a Research Training Support Grant. International students are eligible for up to 30% of the cohort, but funding does not cover relocation or living costs. Applicants must hold at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent, and international applicants must meet the University of Birmingham’s entry requirements, including English language proficiency.

For further information and application instructions, visit the CENTA studentship page and review the University of Birmingham’s international requirements. References supporting the research include recent studies on landslide displacement mechanisms, progressive shear-surface development, and remote sensing analyses of slope processes.